Analogue Life - I

Last weekend I met Ian Orglas(Canadian) and Mitsue Iwakoshi (Japanese), the owners of Analogue Life in their lovely shop in Nagoya. I felt in love with their beautiful crafts right away when I first saw them featured on an interior design blog. I've been thinking about visiting the shop for a while and having to buy a wedding gift was the perfect "excuse" to finally do so.

Analogue Life is situated in Mizuho Ward, in a residential area in Nagoya and a definitely must see to everyone who lives in or visits Nagoya - and for those who like traditional Japanese products that are artisan handmade, handcrafted or produced by small studios and local manufacturers.

Analogue Life is a delight for the eyes and for the soul. As soon as you walk in you feel an imense flow of peace, giving it by the serenity of the airy space in a contemporary Japanese atmosphere.
The simplicity, the beauty and calmte that Analogue Life transmits make you feel at home right away. The idea of being able to turn your passion into work in such an environment, feels like heaven to me.
Perhaps also due to the contemporary look with Showa period architectural elements present in the building and the Japanese garden view which you are able to look at from the bright window.

Then you look around and you see even more beauty exposed on every single product.

The whole time I spent here I was wafting from one corner to an another. Once in a while I stopped and faced the window which looks into the Japanese garden, just to be able to assimilate every single detail and to enjoy that moment as much as I could.

I was delighted and so curious about the shop, the idea behind it, the concept, the webshop, the artisans and their products that I asked Mitsue if I could interview her.
And as open and friendly as Mitsue is, I could do it right away. And I did it!
You can read the interview here on the blog next week.

Ian & Mitsue

Fotos by Lendalia

Analogue Life Nagoya Shop is open Tuesday to Saturday 12-7pm.
Curious and want to go there? See how to get there Here.

Have a great weekend and if you happen to be in the neigbourhood visit it.
You gonna love it!

Japanese design principles

Scandinasian by Lendalia, would not exist if I haven't moved to Japan.
A few years ago I felt in love with Sweden and I started  slowly to appreciate more and more Scandinavia and all the interior design created there.
The exactly same thing is happening to me again here in Japan. I already appreciated Japanese design before, but now i start understanding more about the culture, mentality, way of life and what makes Japanese design so interesting and special.
What caught my attention first was the design simplicity.
After reading the Japanese design principles, everything, every object, every new design makes more sense to me.
Today I would like to share those principles with you.

The Zen principles of Aesthetics are derived from the Buddhism beliefs of Anicca or Impermanence where “everything, without exception, is constantly in flux, even planets, stars and gods".


THE PRINCIPLES:

KANSO (simple)
Elimination of ornate and things of simplicity by nature expresses their truthfulness. Neat, frank and uncomplicated.

FUKINSEI (imbalanced)
Asymmetry, odd numbers, irregularity, unevenness, imbalance is used as a denial of perfection as perfection and symmetry does not occur in nature.


KOKOU (austere)
Basic, weathered bare essentials that are aged and unsensuous. Evokes sternness, forbiddance, maturity and weight.

SHIZEN (natural)
Raw, natural and unforced creativity without pretence. True naturalness is to negate the naive and accidental.

YUGEN (subtle profound)
Suggest and not reveal layers of meaning hidden within. Invisible to the casual eye and avoiding the obvious.

DATSUZOKU (unworldly)
Transcendence of conventional and traditional. Free from the bondage of laws and restrictions. True creativity.

SEIJAKU (calm)
Silence and tranquility, blissful solitude. Absence of disturbance and noise from one’s mind, body and surroundings.

 

 

Pictures via Analogue Life & Source via Thinkingalaud.